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Sea Shepherd breaks off from Japanese whaling fleet to refuel06/01/2009 09:12:20
Sea Shepherd ship, Steve Irwin, chasing a Japanese whaling ship in Antarctica. Credit Sea Shepherd. Man overboard - Presumed lostA Japanese crew member aboard one of the Japanese whale research vessels in the Southern Ocean was reported missing on Monday 5th January. The 30-year-old oiler, Mr Hajime Shirasaki, worked in the engine room of the Kyoshin Maru No.2, a dedicated sighting vessel. Survival time in the waters in the Southern Ocean is limited to just a few minutes, so, sadly, Mr Shirasaki must be presumed dead. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. "We have engaged them, we have stopped their whaling activities for two weeks and we have successfully chased them out of the Australian Antarctic Territorial waters," said Captain Paul Watson. "We now have to return to land to refuel. We don't have the luxury of refueling at sea like the Japanese fleet has. We don't have the resources to operate two ships down here and we don't have the support of Greenpeace to relieve us. We are doing the best we can with the resources available to us and we are having a significant impact on their kills." 2 week pursuit The harpoon vessel Yushin Maru #2, the first whaler that Sea Shepherd encountered this season, has not been seen since December 20th. "The Yushin Maru #2 is not with the fleet and we have no idea where it is, but that ship cannot kill whales independent of the factory ship Nisshin Maru," reported Captain Watson from the Steve Irwin. The Steve Irwin will return to the nearest available port to refuel and then will head back out in pursuit of the fleet again as quickly as possible.
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